Katy
Huberty

Head of North American Technology Hardware Equity Research

Introduction

Katy L. Huberty, a Managing Director in Research who covers the IT hardware industry, thinks of herself and her colleagues in terms that a computer engineer would appreciate. “My team and I are wired differently,” she says. “We collaborate across departments to truly understand what the views are and any debates surrounding them. So when we gather market intelligence and arrive at a view that is the opposite of the consensus, that becomes an opportunity.”

Huberty also sees her equity analyst role as going beyond following the strategy, execution and performance of the leading tech players that her team covers. “We are always looking at the numbers, of course, but we are also trying to anticipate the ways in which these companies are trying to disrupt their own markets or risk getting disrupted by others. We have to try and see around the corners,” she says. Helping in that effort: A collaboration with data scientists, which allows Huberty and her team to gain better insight from near-term data, thereby freeing up their time to focus on just such disruption opportunities.

She doesn’t always get it right, but she’s always driven to dig deeper. For Huberty, technology is more than a job, it’s a passion. She sits on the Morgan Stanley Research Operating Committee and Artificial Intelligence Steering Committee, and serves as board chair of Reach the World, a nonprofit organization focused on connecting global travelers with K-12 classrooms through technology, giving the next generation a view of the larger world they might not otherwise perceive. Huberty shares her insights on The ROI of Tech, The Data Decade and The Creativity Renaissance in these Morgan Stanley Minutes.

Describe your current role at the firm and your responsibilities.

In my role as a Research Analyst, I cover U.S. technology stocks and manage a team that helps gather market intelligence. We look for areas where our view differs from the market, publishing on these ideas in order to create alpha for our investing clients.

What led you to join Morgan Stanley and how have you progressed through your time here?

I came to Morgan Stanley right after college. I was a finance major and had interned with IBM, but I really wanted to explore Wall Street. I started as an Associate and gradually moved into leadership roles over the years. Along the way, I have led diverse teams with people of different backgrounds and personalities.

How do you work with others on your team to put clients first?

The best research product comes through navigating complex topics by leveraging the knowledge of our global colleagues. Together, we stay ahead of key technology trends like cloud computing, mobile Internet, and data technologies to provide our clients with differentiated insight.

Where do good ideas come from?

Increasingly, our ideas are born from data. We have an in-house surveying and data-collection and analytics arm called AlphaWise that gives us access and insight to proprietary polling results and web data to track demand trends for IT products like smartphones. Our quantitative analysts for various sectors help us filter through large data sets to find real signals hidden in the noise. It’s that unique ability to identify the data that matters as the foundation of our insights that really differentiates Morgan Stanley from our competitors.

How has mentorship shaped your experience here?

I’ve had a long list of mentors from across the firm and I have mentored other analysts as well. Today, I am part of a group of other female Managing Directors across the Institutional Securities Group, women who meet regularly with senior leaders across the business so that we can all become smarter about the parts of the firm we know less about.

Mentors helped me each step of the way; it is part of the Morgan Stanley culture. If you come to the table with a collaborative approach, you will find an opportunity to mentor or be mentored almost every day. This is part of the DNA of our firm.